The sound clarity and balance are exceptional, and the historical value is deep. The performance is full of adventure. It’s brimming with novelty, excitement, and a sunny glance ahead into the enormous untapped future that was just ahead of the Grateful Dead.

Bill Kreutzmann already had complete mastery of his instrument. This is an incredible exhibition of his early work. Jerry, Bob, and Phil had serious chops, but were really only just getting started with electric guitars and bass. Their playing is punchy and fast, but mostly stays direct, and within a lane, unlike the melty sidewinding and shapeshifting they would implement later in the 60’s. Pig adds that cheerful organ that stamps this show as being unmistakably 1966. As of 2023, some of these songs are still performed by the remaining guys.

This one is near and dear to me. Back in the day I ripped it to my iPod Nano, and would bump it on the bus on the way to hockey games, then eventually on the greyhound trips to college, etc. etc. Nowadays I have it as filler on a CD of a longer show.

In the days and hours before attending a show, I usually listen to stuff from way back in the day, just to appreciate the roots of what I’m about to witness. The day before heading down to Bobby’s Capitol Theatre shows this past weekend, I listened to this one on archive.org through my single ear headset, sipping some English breakfast tea at my desk in an upstate office. 57 Februarys later, many worlds have come since 2/25/66, but it will always hold up as an acid test time capsule and a true classic.

"The road of life is a long, long road when you walk alone
But I found you, and I found a love, a love I never known."

Besides all the controversy about what show this actually is, this is nothing short of amazing. The Dead are simply on with every single track, and nail it consistently. It's hard for me to believe that this is a live recording, and I Know You Rider and Cold Rain and Snow far surpass the 1965 studio recordings.

There is a palpable energy in the old blues-era live recordings, a real feeling that anything and everything might happen in a show. It may have been the acid, it may have been the youth, or it might just be something in the tape. Whatever it is, it's absolutely addicting, and makes for an excellent listening experience.

There's a slight skip near the end of track 10 from whatever CD this was ripped from.

All in all, this is amazing. If this really is a show from March 1966, as the consensus seems to be, it's nothing short of remarkable. It's hard to believe that this is a live recording.

this was the year the Beatles stopped touring.

What a gem

I love the This Date in History feature on the Archive - allows me to re-engage with this simply magical show (regardless of its actual date.). PURE BLISS indeed - where it all started!

Raw! And awesome!

Still has the anarchy and panic of jug, foundation of the future of the grateful dead. Great sounding recording for early 66.

The Ivar show probably doesn't exist. Tracks 1-8 are confirmed as the 3/12/66 Danish show.
Updated source:
archive.org/details/gd1966-02-25.sbd.unknown.20346.sbeok.shnf

Love feeling that feeling

Very interesting analysis, sdm8deyz. I wish there was more of it. It's nice to see someone take the time to actually think to logically work this date question out. Interesting article below also. Fun specutation!

Well this is my actual birthday. That's right, I am fifty today. And in a strange twist of fate, this was the very first cassette tape that I was given when I began to get into the band more seriously back in 1986. I always thought it was pretty neat. Of course now I am sure that this is not actually from my birthday.

There was allegedly an acid test in Hollywood on this date at The Cinema Theatre according to the Wikipedia. I am no expert, but it seems likely to me that the band played there that night at some point. However, it was also generally true that the acid tests took place on Saturdays and this was a Friday night in 1966, so that could be a confusion as well.

There does seem to be consensus from the vault masters that this music is in fact the Danish Center show from 3-12-66 as there seem to be an even better version of it in the vault after the discovery of the so-called mystery reels in 2006.

If you want to read about all of that in rather fine detail, this is a good link:

http://deadessays.blogspot.com/2014/05/the-1966-mystery-reels-guest-post.html

Might be the best Caution I've ever heard.

-

I got turned on to this show from GratefulDeadoftheDay.com. They had a good little write up on the Ivar as well as nothing put praise for this show.

This is like pre-evolved Dead. Such a hot show with Pigpen just wailing. I have not heard too much pre-1968; it makes me rethink the band.

Like Evan Hunt would say:

"5 Gazillion Stars do not suffice!"

sound is perfect, pig pen is perfect, the band is raw and young and god how i love them!

... words fail me (rare).

Let's see, 66/02/25? I was within a week of turning nine. Fast forward ten years and my frat brother turned several of on to the Dead and LSD with other amateur molecules.

Somehow I stumbled in here three months or so ago and haven't listened to music that wasn't Grateful Dead since. If you've done the math, you'll know I'm 54 now and with over 300 Dead concerts downloaded, I'll likely listen to nothing else until I die.

At the risk of incurring the wrath of purists I will admit my musical ignorance (hell!, I know what I like) and as what the guitar in IKYR that is do different than other versions. YIKES!!!!

Deadlists doesn't even spot this one. The first IKYR is listed as 1966-03-12.

Anyway, feel the love. If this ain't the real thing, it's close enough to pretend.

Wow! It's about all I can say. This is truly a gem. I'm an archaeologist and I love this history. I was born 23 years too late, but I'm lovin this now. I love this site thank you for these gems of artifacts. It's like going back in time, tracing the roots finding the fountain where it all stems from. Absolutely beautiful.

Hey,
this is a birthday show for me... I was 2.
I'd drink muddy water, sleep in a hollow log...
...than stay here in Whittier and be treated like a dog..
-01-

Well, Glen Cambell did do that song in 1968, but Dorsey Burnette came out on the charts with that as a single in 1960, just to clear that up a little. Excellent show by the way! Pig was something else

Sound is spectacular! The performance is historically awesome! Thank you to all who make this possible.

This is such a good show. The sound is really good quality for the 60s.

Get this now

This is top notch quality! I can't get enough of this show. I love the bluesy sound that this show produces. Oh and the sound quality is CD quality. Had Pig Pen lived longer, the dead sound would have included much more of the blues.

The top 4 songs here, IMO, are Next Time You See Me, Hey Little one, She's on the Road again, and like echoed King Bee -> Caution. Just listen to the very first riff in Next Time You See Me... wow.


Here is something I don't get, from what I looked up, "Hey Little One" was first produced by Glen Cambell and released in 1968... so, how is the Grateful Dead singing it in 1966?

is fuckn unbelievable! 100 stars alone just for that. The rest of the recording is pretty damn good as well. The GMLS > YDLM > GMLS kicks as well.

I can't help but keep thinking to myself, "Who the fuck is luckier than us? All this music available for us to enjoy. What other band gave us so much recorded history to enjoy forever? Nobody."

So I continue to give thanks...

The exact date doesn't matter to me. Sometime in 1966 is okay with me. What does matter is how great this sounds. To my untrained ear, I can't believe how good this sounds for something recorded in the mid 60s. The band is playing fantastic. Schoolgirl>You don't Love me> schholgirl is just incredible. As far as I know, this is the first time I have heard them cover you Don't Love Me. I am now on a quest to find other versions.

Nice call on the Mozilla UnPlug.... That really works to download...at least the mp3 version.....

UPDATE 1/23/2007 from Paul Scotton ~
David Lemieux, keeper of the vault, has provided a complete set list for 3/12/66. It is:

3/12/66 Danish Hall, Los Angeles, Ca.
Cream Puff War
Teddy Bear's Picnic
Sitting On Top Of The World
Minglewood
Cold Rain and Snow
Tastebud
Silver Threads
Baby Blue
Good Lovin'
You Don't Have To Ask
On The Road Again
Next Time You See Me
I Know You Rider
Hey Little One
King Bee>Caution
Stealin'

I dont know if I should drink a bottle of wine, take a hit of acid or just go surfing but this is cool. Great show, worth the download.

A smile comes to my face every time i play this show. The meaning of true feeling is reached.

so good it hurts.

Yes, if you are crafty enough you can save this show, try using mozzilla firefox and the plug-in called unplug

Hey guys, any idea on how to download, or is it streaming only? I'd love to have it.

this is called HEAVEN! thank you whom-ever......................

All that shines is not gold. But this sure is. Really crank this up. I cant believe the quality for 1966!! Pigpen is the man.

PIG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

This is essential. Listen to this first. Then listen to it again.

It's that good.

wow! out of sight! gee wiz! this is SO good, and i do mean SO good. how can this archive site even exist? do any of us know how lucky we are? can you pass the archive test? man...
and what kind of weird thing was going on with the singing? there's hardly a bad note anywhere. i love the grateful dead, but we all know they're notorious note-flubbers when it comes to singing...this is so fantastic! dig pig's laugh in king bee! golden!

Pigpen was really the bigest driving force in the band durring the early years. Not many people know how much he really added to the band. he wrote alot of the material, he sang, and he added that crunchy blues sound to the early years. after pigpen left this world you can really hear an instent change. As much as I am a 70s and 80s fan, I always go back every few weeks and listen to the roots.

I just wish i could download this show. That fucking rat dog

The sound quality is a 5 stars as far as the 60s go. The energy of the band back then really comes threw durring this show. It gives me shivers up my spine.

Check out Jerry wailing at the end of "Hey, Little One"--wow! I read the strong arguments below, yet will have to insist that this amazing show was in fact recorded on 2/25/1966. Is that because I was there? Actually, no, I was quite busy across the country, in Philadelphia to be precise, being born. Nonetheless, I like to think I picked up a bit of the vibe, and have carried it with me ever since...

As we now know from the Rare Cuts & Oddities release--which includes Hey Little One and the King Bee -> Caution combo--3/12/66 is the correct date for this setlist.

On the Road Again is the same performance as on the So Many Roads box, so the exact date for that track can now be pinpointed, too.

Cold Rain in '66 is the same arrangement as '67, but IMHO they haven't fully tapped into its pulse yet--listen to the fully amped version from Monterey.

Hey Little One is just a gem. Beautiful song, and impassioned vocals by Jerry. How rare to hear Jerry belting it out over a girl! It's my favorite cut on Rare Tracks & Oddities, and~ along with In the Pines & the early Nobody's Fault But Mine~ the most significant buried nugget unearthed from the '66 archives, to my taste.

This Caution is treasure, too--sort of an extendo Emergency Crew version whose rhythm really does evoke the train-on-the-tracks motif that per Phil's book he & Billy were going for. Later versions got more intense, with Phil letting the bass notes sustain out & fill the bottom, but this is still priceless.

5 stars for historical value (and I can't get enough '66, keep the excavations coming), but in fairness to the truly best of Dead performances, I'm calling this a 4.

A sidenote on the "fatal tune" phrase from Cold Rain: Jerry sings "fatal tune" on the RFK 6/14/91 version. Thanks for the history on that, I'd just assumed Jerry was having a little fun on the latter, when he was actually hearkening back to days of yore! (I've now heard the original recording--what a haunter....and what an inspired re-arrangement the Dead came up with....)

First of all, the extra "Stealin'" is the same as the one the Archive calls 7.1.66. The version you get as track 9 here slices off initial riff-error Jerry makes on the false-start of 7.1.66, but afterwards both versions are identical. Listen for Jerry's lyric-errors on both verses to confirm this. This tune was really getting away from him that night!

Regarding the so-called "2.25" set itself, here are two more good reasons to believe it's from at least April '66 (if not July):

1.) The words to verse three of "Cold Rain" on this tape are not "where she met her fatal doom," though that's how they appear on both the 3.25.66 version & on the last verse of the Obray Ramsey recording that the boys are covering.

Here on "2.25.66," Jerry morphs this line into "where she sang a fatal tune." Even though this hybrid makes no lyrical sense, you can see Jerry trying to get around the idea that the singer brutally slays his wife in the course of the song. By 5.19.66, Jerry substitutes "fateful tune," a variation that both avoids the murder idea and makes more lyrical sense. On this rationale, the "2.25" version reads like a bridge between 3.25 and 5.19.66.

On this logic, July '66 also seems likely, since this lyrical change keeps shifting around. For example on 7.1.66, it's "fateful tune." But on 12.1.66, Jerry forgets to change, and reverts somewhat:"where she met her fateful doom," an odd mixture of the original and the recent changes. So in July, he might've slipped back to "fatal tune" even after singing "fateful tune" on 5.19.66.

2.) IKYR offers more information. The version here has both the "hollow log/Frisco" and "sun/ backdoor" verses. The version from 3.12 does not, repeating the 1st verse instead. By 5.19 the Frisco/backdoor verses have been added, and stay put in all subsequent live versions of the tune. So there is no way this tape can be before 3.12.66.

April is doubtful: why would we have only one set from a Longshoreman's show? July is likely--end of May at the very least.

This is so good I can't believe no one can positively identify this show. I don't believe it's from the date listed and I don't think it's studio practice as you can hear the audience clapping between some of the songs. Been wondering about this one for some time now.

I'm not sure,but this King Bee sounds a lot like the one on the Pranksters' video "Acid Test"...Check it out at Key-z.com.

To josewavo:

As a side note, Tom Waits "sings" the following line in his song "Emotional Weather Report":

"...colder than a ticket taker's smile at the Ivar Theater on a Saturday night"

i'm 5 mins into this show..sweeeeeet!!!!

This recording is in great quality for the era. I give it a 5 because of sound qualiy. Stealin is another reason you should download this show.

1605 North Ivar Ave. Hollywood. there's a little history at
http://www.keeslau.com/TomWaitsSupplement/Topography/ivar.htm

This is an incredible download and an incredible show...if it is a show. Deadbase 10 doesn't have a set list for this date and where the heck was the Ivar Theater anyway. This sounds, in part at least, like a studio practice session, the cuts on several songs like Rider don't sound like tape shut-offs as much as a band rehersal where the 'leader' ends the tune with a hand gesture. But still, the other reviewer who used the term 'petri dish' is entirelly apt, this is a real missing link type of 'show' that reveals where the band is coming from or what they were trying to do when they looked like (and sounded like) British Mod Rockers, the old style of Rider for example and the total jam from Schoolgirl>You Don't Love Me>Schoolgirl is outstanding. Pig is outstanding and plays a great harp here with Jerry playing on an acoustic pick up...The sound quality is also 5 star.

incredible sound quality for such an early GD recording

Absolutely amazing! I can't believe how good this is. Jerry is playing great. And this is by far one of the best shows. Absoultely neccessary for any Pigpen fans out there, as he doesn't sing a single bad note as he sometimes did and is probably the only other person in the band to have ever taken a solo besides Jerry. But I digress, this is Grateful Dead Gold. Lets face it, they were never even close to as good as this from '68 on. Jerry is playing the best he ever did (especially on the solo on 'I Know You Rider') than in the decades to come and the band as a whole held it all together much better during this era. Truly one of the best concert on this site.

what can i say that hasnt been said!!!
great stuff, i cant wait to pass along the new old stuff i have!! thanks again ALL

This is a top three of this whole site. What an incredible petri dish they are experimenting with it's like going back to the garden of eden and seeing how life was created. You don't love me is awesome and pity Allmans ran with the ball there. Pig and Phil are great on this.... 6/5

This is a totally hot show, whatever the date, with really great material. Pigpen was in fine form. And the "bonus" Good Morning Little Schoolgirl is simply outstanding. The recording quality is excellent for this vintage too.

this is sick!! it is probably top 5 as far as sound quality i have heard on this site......sounds great...band is on!!! i mean...there is a TAD { i mean tad } of distorion on jerry's vocal mic, but this is much different than digi distortion that plauged many recordings that i have heard of the dead in the 80s and 90s...this is a ribbon mic being pushed ----wait.....schoolgirl starts and so does the hiss....sounds like a different show to me crap from here on out still a five for the rest of the show......

I've maintained for years that there is no way this material was performed this early in the year. Compare this show to those performed 1/8, 3/12 or 3/25, and the difference is night and day, both in the band's performance and the quality of the SBD recording. This material was dated 2/25 by DeadBase. I have no idea what their rationale was  and DeadBase qualifies its entry with "date of list uncertain." To my ears, this material clearly belongs with the large realm of stuff circulating from the July Fillmore Aud shows.